Group encouraging French language services in Kingston

The area’s French-speaking community is trying to bring attention to the services that can be offered in French in the Kingston area.

As part of a provincewide campaign by the L’Assemblée de la Francophonie de l’Ontario, the local L’Association canadienne-francaise de l’Ontario, Conseil régional des Milles-Iles (ACFOMI) is promoting the Bonjour Welcome Campaign.

The campaign is designed to highlight francophone services where they are available and to create a more welcoming community by displaying greetings in both official languages.

“We don’t want to demand it, we just want to say why not when it’s possible,” Michele Dubois, executive director of ACFOMI, told city council at Tuesday’s meeting. “There are a lot of people who speak French in Kingston, so if it is possible, why not offer the services in French.”

The campaign is meant to encourage francophone people to ask for services in French and to encourage local businesses and groups to offer bilingual services and advertise when they do.

“It really is a welcoming campaign,” Erika Lamon, office agent for ACFOMI, added. “The slogan when it is as simple as saying ‘Bonjour Welcome,’ that is the basis of the campaign.

“You take on the campaign however you can,” she said, explaining that ideally, businesses offer a bilingual greeting or advertise in some way that French-language services are available.

The bilingual Bonjour Welcome Campaign contrasts with a Quebec law last year that encouraged merchants to use the greeting “Bonjour” instead of the more common “Bonjour-Hi.”